Juice-extracting apparatus



Jan. 5 1926. 1,568,255

J. 1. THORNYCROFT JUICE EXTRACTING APPARATUS Filed {\pril 19. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 5 192s. 1,568,255

J. I. THORNYCROFT JUICE EXTRACTING APPARATUS Filed April 19. 9 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Y5 fa w I f I 47 49 4/522 l Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

UNITED STA-TES PATENT OFFIQE.

JUICE-EXTRACTING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 19, 1921. Serial No. 462,730.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be itknown that I, Join: Isaac THORNY- onor'r, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Bembridge, in the Isle of Wight, England, have invented In'iprovements. in or Relating to JLllC8EX tracting Apparatus, of which the following is a s 'iecification. p

This invention has reference to juice extracting apparatus of the kind described in the specification of my Letters Patent No. 1,409,797 wherein the material, for instance sliced beet, to be treated, is'forced into a diffuser by means of a" piston vertically movable in a feed cylinder below the dif fuser, each stroke of the feed piston causingthe contents of the feed cylinder to pass upward into the diffuser through a centrally arranged lift valve that normally closes theupper end of the feed cylinder, the spent material being ultimately dis. charged at the top of the diffuser.

a The present invention has for its object to improve the'construction and'operation of juice extracting apparatus of the kind re ferred to.

. In such apparatus it sometimes happens that the material under treatment, (hereinafter referred to as beet) becomes very compact at the bottom of the diffuser, with the result that it cannot be dealt with in so satisfactory a manner as is desirable.

To avoid this objection, there is provided within the diffuser accordingto the present invention, a vertically arranged screw con-s veyor adapted to carry the beet and in connection with which, means are provided for rotating'it, so, as to take advantage of the periodic lifting of the beet, due to the new charges introduced into the diffuser by the upstrokes of the feed piston. In this manner of working, the screw, which is or may be perforated with manyholes, forms a support for the beet during the downstroke of the feed piston and allows the juice to freely descend. The means for rotating the screw conveyor is preferably arranged to be operated simultaneously with the raising of the piston in the feed cylinder so that the lifting, of the beet within the diffuser will take place simultaneously with the introduction of fresh beet into the bot tom of the diffuser past the lift valve by the feed piston. I

To facilitate the feeding of beet into the feed cylinder, the wall of this cylinder is,

according to the present invention, divided vertically into two parts one of which is fixed and the other movable and adapted to act as a feed valve between the feed chute and the interior of the feed cylinder, the said movable part of the cylinder being connected to suitable operating means. The lift valve at the bottom of the diffuser may advantageously have combined therewith means for positively closing it upon the descent of the feed piston.

The rotation. of the screw conveyor, the lifting of the feed piston, the raising and lowering of the feed valve and the descent of the lift valve may advantageously be effected by hydraulic means.

Apparatus" of the kind referred to embodying the invention can be variously constructed. v

In the accompanying illustrative drawings, Fig. 1 shows partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, one construction of the improved apparatus, Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof taken at right angles to Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a plan. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are similar views to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, showing a modified construction.

According to the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the screw conveyor comprises a vertical spindle 1 supported from above and a helical blade 2 carried thereby and extending from the lower portion of the diffuser 3 to near the top thereof and made of a diameter nearly equal to the internal diameter of the diffuser. The helical blade may be perforated as shown to allow of the ready descent through the beet supported and raised thereby of the liquid used forextracting juice therefrom.

To the top. of the spindle 1, outside the diffuser 3, is fixed a ratchet wheel 4, with which engages one or more pawls 5, two are shown, carried by a lever 6 arranged to be moved forward and backward by the ram 7 of a hydraulic cylinder 8, a detent 9, being provided to prevent backward rotation of the wheel 4. The cylinder 8 may, as shown, be fixed to a support 10 carried by the upper end of the diffuser 3 and adapted to serve also as a bearing for the upper end of the spindle 1, the spindle and screw blade being suspended therefrom.

The wall of the feed cylinder below the diffuser 3 is divided vertically throughout its length, one part 11 being fixed at 12 to the bottom 13 of the diffuser and the other part 11 being vertically movable and fixed to a vertical rod or rain 15, the lower end portion 16 of which extends into a vertically arranged hydraulic cylinder 17 provided with ports 18 and 19 at its upper and lower ends respectively for admission and exhaust of liquid. The movable part 11 of the feed cylinder 11, 11, forming a feed valve, is arranged opposite the large lower outlet end of a chute 20 into which sliced beet is fed so that when the feed valve 11 is lowered, sliced beet can freely enter the feed cylinder by gravity. By this construction, the use of a screw or other means for forcinn; beet through the chute into the feed cy nder can be dis ensed with.

The chute 20 is fixed to one side of the lower portion 3 of the diffuser 3 and may, as in the example shown, have attached thereto a casing 21 the lower portion 21 of which is fixed to a casting 22-adapted to form therewith a receptacle for liquid or juice necessary for the feed cylinder and supplied to such cylinder from the said receptacle through a perforated portion 23 of the chute 20. The liquid thus supplied to the feed cylinder is, on the upstroke of the feed piston 24 forced into the lower end of the diffuser 3 with the fresh charge of beet and caused to act in an advantageous manner on the beet in the diffuser. In the lower portion 3 of the diffuser there is fitted, as usual, a filter 25 of perforated sheet metal.

The feed piston 24f is carried by a verti cal rod or ram 26 extending through a stuffing box 27 at the lower end of the casting 22 and into a second hydraulic cylinder 28 provided at its lower end with a port 29 for admission and exhaust of liquid. The ram 15 carrying the feed valve 11 also extends through a stuffing box 30 carried by the lower end of the casting 22.

The lift valve 31 is carried by a rod 32 that extends downward through the feed piston 24 and its ram 26 and into a third hydraulic cylinder 33 provided at its upper end w1th a port 31 for admission and exhaust of l quid.

The hydraulic cylinders 17 and 28 for the rams 15 and 26 of the feed valve 11 and feed piston 24 respectively, may, as shown,

conveniently be formed in a single casting fixed, to a plate 35 that is connected by rods 35 to the lower end 36 of the feed cylinder 11, 11*. The hydraulic cylinder 33 for the ram 32 of the lift valve 31 may be fixed to the underside of the said casting.

The admission of liquid under pressure to the hydraulic cylinders 8 and 28 used respectively for intermittently rotating the screw conveyor 12 in one direction and for raising the feed piston 24 may be caused to take place simultaneously or nearly so, or the feed piston may commence to move first.

The admission of liquid to the upper end of the hydraulic cylinder 17 associated with the feed valve 11 for opening such valve, takes place when the feed piston 24 is in its highest position and the lift valve 31 in its lowest position and at rest, the feed valve 11 in opening, pulling down with it the feed piston 24. The feed valve 11 is afterwards raised independently by admitting liquid to the lower end of its associated hydraulic cylinder 17, the feed piston 21 being raised independently after the feed valve 11 has been again closed.

a is a rotary valve whereby liquid can be allowed to pass from a pressure main Z) to a pipe a and thence simultaneously through pipes a and a o the left hand end of cylinder 8 and the bottom of cylinder 28 for causing the screw-conveyor 2 to rotate and the piston 24; to rise simultaneously and liquid to exhaust simultaneously from the right hand end of cylinder 8 through a pipe a to an exhaust pipe a and whereby liquid can afterwards be caused to flow from the pressure main 6 to the right hand end of cylinder 8 through pipe a and liquid to exhaust simultaneously from the left hand end of cylinder 8 and the lower end of cylinder 24 through pipes a a and a to the exhaust pipe of. c is a rotary valve whereby liquid can be allowed to flow from the pressure main 7) through a pipe 0 to the top of cylinder 17 and liquid to exhaust from the bottom of this cylinder-through a pipe 0 to an exhaust pipe 0 to cause the feed valve 11 to descend and whereby the direction of the pressure fluid and exhaust can afterwards be reversed to cause the feed valve to rise. (Z is a rotary valve whereby liquid can be allowed to flow from the pressure main 1) through a pipe a" to the top of cylinder 33 to cause the lift valve 31 to descend and whereby the liquid can afterwards be exhausted through the said pipe d to an exhaust pipe (Z to allow the lift valve to be raised when the feed piston rises.

The apparatus illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 is broadly similar to that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, inasmuch as it comprises a diffuser 3, having arranged within it a screw conveyor adapted to be intermittently rotated concurrently with the periodic lifting of the diffuser charge and a feed cylinder 1111 arranged below the diffuser and having its wall divided into two parts, one of which namely 11 is fixed whilst the other 11 is movable and adapted to act as a feed valve. The said figures however show various modifications that may be embodied in such apparatus. Thus, there may be substituted for the continuous single-threaded conveyor screw already described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a screw consisting of portions 2 of a multi-thread screw arranged at intervals along the conveyor spindle, 1. Also, the ram 26 of the feed ton 24 may, as shown in this construction,

- be made double-acting, so that this piston is actuated positively, in each direction by the ram, instead of being drawn down by the feed valve 11*. For thispurpose, the cylinder 28 is provided at its lower and upper ends with ports at 29 and 29 respectively. Also, the ratchet wheel 4 for intermittently rotating the screw. conveyor 12 instead of being actuated by a single ram, as in the previously described arrangement, may be actuated by a pair oframs 7 a and 7" working in cylinders 8 and 8 and connected to chains 38 wound partly aroundand secured to a chain wheel 39 carrying pawls 5 engaging the ratchet wheel 4. The return stroke of the said rams is effected by a weight 40- that is connected by a cor or chain 41, passing over a guide wheel 41, to a pulley -42 fixed to the chain wheel 39, the weight acting to rotate the pulley 42 and chain wheel39 in the reverse direction for the purpose mentioned, as soon as the ram cylinder connections are reversed to place the cylinders in connection with an exhaust outlet. Juice to be supplied to the casing or receptacle 21 for admission through the perforated side of the chute-20, may, as shown in Fig. 5, be drawn off from the bottom of the diffuser through a pipe 43 and be passed through the tubes 44 of a heating device'45 wherein it is heated by steam surrounding the tubes. The heated juice is thence delivered through a pipe 46 fitted, it may be, with a stop cock at 46, to the casing 21 and chute 2O whence it flows to the feed cylinder 11, 11 when the feed valve 11 is opened. From the feed cylinder it is forced into the bottom of the diffuser 3 with a charge of beet when the feed piston 24, nextrises.

The water for diffusion is supplied to the top of the diffuser in any convenient way. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it is supplied by a pipe 48 and circular sprinkler 49 and falls on the exhausted beet, afterwards passing down the diffuser 8, whilst the beet, travelling in the opposite direction, is finally discharged in a spent condition through an outlet branch 50.

Means may. in each arrangement, be provided at the bottom of the diffuser for drawing off thin juice for further treat ment external to the diffuser. Such means, in the construction shown in Fig. 4, comprises a pipe 52 fitted with a stop-valve 53 and connections 54 and 55 for the attachment of treating apparatus. Such means are or may be analogous to those described in the said former specification for a like purpose.

In both of the constructions illustrated, means broad-1y analogous to those described in the said former specification are propisvided for cross circulation of liquid through the diffuser 3 and the beet therein, this being provided for by means of reversible centrifugal pumps arranged in pairs at different levels, two pairs of such pumps 57 and 58, carried respectively by detachable covers 57' and 58 secured over opening, the diffuser 3, fitted with grids 59 and 60 being shown. The current of juice can be reversed when desired by reversing the action of the said pumps, so as to keep the perforated grids 59 and 60 clear of obstruction.

Also, the diffuser 3, in each case may be provided at one side with a hole at 61 for gaining ready access to its interior, the said hole being normally closed by a cover 62 (Figs. 1 and 5), that is fixed in place by a screw 63 set up by a nut 64 held endways in a bridge piece 65 and capable of being rotated by a hand wheel 66. The bridge pieceis pinned at its ends to bracketsti'? on a ring 68 fixed to the diffuser 3 around the hole 61 and adapted to form a seat for the cover 62.

hat I claim is 1. Juice extracting apparatus of the kind herein referred to, comprising a vertical diffusing vessel, a screw conveyor located vertically therein, means whereby the screw conveyor canbe rotated in an intermittent manner, a lift valve normally closing the lowerend of the diffusing vessel, a feed cylinderlocated vertically below the diffuser and lift valve and provided with a vertically movable piston, a feed chute located at one side of said feed cylinder, the wall of said feed cylinder being divided vertically into two parts one of which is fixed whilst the other is movable and adapted to act as a feed valve between said chute and the interior of said feed cylinder and separate hydraulic motors, each comprising a hydraulic cylinder and ram, for actuating the rotating means for said conveyor, for lowering the lift valve, for lifting the feed piston and for raising and lowering the feed valve, substantially as described.

2. Juice extracting apparatus comprising a vertical diffusing chamber having an inlet at its bottom, a lift valve normally closing said inlet, a feed cylinder with feed piston located below said chamber. a feed chute at one side of said cylinder and adapted to deliver into said feed cylinder material to be treated, means for opening and closing communication between said cylinder and chute, a casing adapted to form with the lower side of said feed chute a receptacle for liquid, the lower side of said chute being perforated, and means for delivering liquid into said receptacle whence it can pass into said chute through the perforated lower side thereof, substantially as described for the purpose herein set forth.

3. For the extraction of juice from vegetable substance, apparatus comprising a vertical dilfusing vessel, a rotary screw conveyor arranged centrally therein and suspended by its upper end and hydraulically operated. means adapted to impart an intermittent rotary motion to said conveyor.

In juice extracting apparatus of the kind herein referred to, the combination with a vertical diffusing vessel and a lift valve at the lower end thereof, of a feed cylinder arranged vertically below said diffusing vessel and provided with a vertically movable piston and a feed chute at one side of said feed cylinder, said feed cylinder being divided vertically into two parts one of which is stationary and the other vertically movable and adapted to act as a feed valve between said chute and the interior of said cylinder, and means for raising and lowering said feed valve. 4

For the extraction of juice from vegetable substance, apparatus comprising a vertical diffusing vessel, a rotary screw conveyor arranged centrally therein and suspended by its upper end, means for intermittently rotating said screw conveyor, a feed cylinder arranged vertically below said diffuser and divided vertically into two portions one stationary and the other vertical ly movable and adapted to act as a feed valve, a piston in said cylinder, a lift valve between the bottom of the diffuser and feed cylinder, a feed chute opposite the movable portion of said feed cylinder and separate hydraulic motors for operating the said feed valve, feed piston and lift valve, substantially as described.

6. In juice extracting apparatus of the kind herein referred to, the combination with a vertical diffusing vessel, a lift valve at the lower end thereof, a feed cylinder below said vessel, a chute for delivering sliced beet into said feed cylinder, a casing external to said chute and having its interior in communication with the interior of said chute through perforations in the lower wall thereof, and a steam heated tubular device in communication with the interior of said diffusing vessel at the lower end thereof and with the interior of said casing.

7. Juice extracting apparatus comprising a vertical diffusion chamber having a central feed inlet openin in the bottom, a screw conveyor depending vertically into said chamber and supported only at the upper end thereof, means for intermittently rotating said screw conveyor, means for forcing material to be treated vertically upwards into said chamber by a direct thrust through said inletopening and means for actuatin said feeding means.

Signed at Bembridge, in the Isle of V'Vight, England, this eleventh day of March, 1921.

JOHN ISAAC THORNYCROFT. 

